How to Obtain a
Marriage License

How to Obtain a
Marriage Commissioner Appointment

Under Alaska Statute 25.05.261(a)(2) 1, anyone can perform your marriage ceremony,
including a friend or relative, if they first obtain a marriage commissioner
appointment from an Alaskan court as authorized by AS 25.05.081.2 The person should be 18 years of age or
older, and does not need to be a resident of
Alaska or the United States in order to perform the ceremony.

Contact (by phone, by mail or fax, or in person) the court nearest to
where the wedding will be performed. The online court system directory has a complete listing
of court locations and contact information. You may also contact the office
which handles requests for marriage commissioner appointments in the
judicial district of the court nearest to where the wedding will be
performed. See Alaska courts listed by judicial
district to determine the district. Procedures vary by judicial
district; there is no online application form.

The full name of the intended marriage commissioner, including middle
name.

The address of the intended marriage commissioner.

The full names of the couple to be married, including middle
name.

The month, day and year marriage is to occur.

The town or physical location where the marriage ceremony will be
performed.

In the First Judicial District the intended marriage
commissioner must also provide his or her date of birth.

In the Fourth Judicial District the marriage license
must accompany the marriage commissioner application.

There is a $25 fee for processing a marriage
commissioner appointment application.

There is no waiting period for this appointment.
However, in the Fourth Judicial District, applications
should be submitted at least one week before the wedding.

The court will issue a written order appointing the
marriage commissioner together with instructions. The marriage commissioner
is responsible for ensuring that the marriage is performed in compliance
with the law and that the marriage certificate is filed with the Health Analytics & Vital Records Section.

The marriage should not be performed until the
marriage commissioner has a copy of the written order in hand.

If the marriage is not performed on the date stated in
the order, a new marriage commissioner appointment order must be obtained.

IMPORTANT REMINDER: It is the responsibility of the couple to be married
to apply for and pick up a marriage license. A marriage commissioner does
not have the authority to obtain the marriage
license for the couple.

(1) by a minister, priest, or rabbi of any church or congregation in the
state, or by a commissioned officer of the Salvation Army, or by the
principal officer or elder of recognized churches or congregations that
traditionally do not have regular ministers, priests, or rabbis, anywhere
within the state;

(2) by a marriage commissioner or judicial officer of the state anywhere
within the jurisdiction of the commissioner or officer; or

(3) before or in any religious organization or congregation according to
the established ritual or form commonly practiced in the organization or
congregation.

(b) This section may not be construed to waive the requirements for
obtaining a marriage license.

The presiding judge in each judicial district may, if the public interest
requires, appoint one or more suitable persons as marriage commissioners. The
presiding judge shall describe the marriage commissioner's area of
jurisdiction in the order of appointment. A marriage commissioner may, within
that jurisdiction, solemnize marriages in the same manner as a district judge
or magistrate judge and may exercise any power, other than the power to issue
marriage licenses, necessarily incident to the duties of a marriage
commissioner. The clerk of court shall issue to the marriage commissioner a
certified copy of the order of appointment and send a copy of it to the
bureau.

Sample Marriage
Ceremony Scripts

All marriage ceremony scripts must meet the minimum requirements of AS
25.05.301 as listed below:

In the solemnization of marriage no particular form is
required except that the parties shall assent or declare in the presence of
each other and the person solemnizing the marriage and in the presence of at
least two competent witnesses that they take each other to be husband and
wife. A competent witness for this purpose is a person of sound mind capable
of understanding the seriousness of the ceremony. At the time of the ceremony,
the person solemnizing the marriage shall complete the certification on the
original marriage certificate. The person solemnizing the marriage and the two
attending witnesses shall sign the original marriage certificate and the
necessary copies.

Sample Marriage Ceremony Scripts - You may use your own
script or other marriage ceremony scripts may be obtained by searching the
internet.
NOTE: All marriage ceremony scripts must meet the minimum requirements of AS
25.05.301.

Online Services

Request Copies

Requests for copies of case files should be submitted to
the records department or clerk of court where the case was filed. You may
submit your request in person or by mail to the court. Anchorage, Fairbanks, and courts in the First Judicial District accept requests by email. Email requests for copies
are not accepted at other court locations. Please use one of the request
forms listed below.

Most court files are available for public inspection. Files in some
proceedings, such as juvenile matters, are confidential and only parties to
the case are allowed access to the file.

Copies: The first document (or part)
requested is $5.00, then each additional document requested at that time is
copied at $3.00 each.

Certified copies: $10.00 for the first
certified copy and $3.00 for each additional certified copy of the same
document, requested at the same time.

Exemplified/Authenticated copies: $15.00
for each exemplified copy of a document.

Research: $30.00 per hour.

A deposit may be required on some copy requests.

Requesting Copies of Audio Recordings

Submit requests for audio recordings in person or by mail to the clerk of
court where the hearing was held. Please use one of the request forms listed
below, and be sure to include $20.00 payment per CD.

Programs & Services

Public Administrators

The public administrator administers the estates of deceased persons when
administration is required by law and no one else applies to be the
administrator within 30 days after the date of death. AS 22.20.410 -- .440.
The public administrator is a judicial officer or court employee appointed by
the presiding judge of each judicial district. The public administrators in
each judicial district are:

Attorney Addresses

The court maintains attorney addresses in CourtView using the
"business" address on file with the Alaska Bar Association. This is
the address that courts use when distributing notices, orders and judgments.
If there is no business address on file with the Bar, CourtView will
reflect "Address not provided" in the address field.

Whenever an attorney’s business address changes, it is important
that the attorney immediately submit an Address Change Form with the Bar
Association. This form is available on the Bar’s website: https:/alaskabar.org/ Attorney
addresses in CourtView are updated weekly from a file
received from the Alaska Bar Association.

Attorneys must also give notice of the change of address to other parties
by filing and serving a notice of change of address in each case in which the
attorney appears as required by Civil Rule 5(i).

Pattern Jury Instructions

Attention: These instructions are NOT for persons who have
been summoned for trial or grand jury service.

Pattern jury instructions are used by the trial judge to instruct members
of the jury on the law applicable in the case before them. Lawyers may also
use pattern jury instructions as they prepare for trial to ensure they
address all the elements of their case.

Transcripts and Transcribers

The Alaska Court System has an open solicitation (ACS-NOS-17-005577 KB) for qualified responders to be added to the list of
transcribers contracted with the court.

Solicitation responses may be submitted to the Alaska Court System
Purchasing Department at any time but must be received by Monday, February
13, 2017 at 2:00p.m. AKST (Alaska Standard Time) to be included in the
initial list of contractors.

Any questions referring to the solicitation process should be directed to
the Purchasing Department, contact information provided below. Any questions
referring to the transcript process should be directed to Transcript
Coordinator, Irma Hernandez, at ihernandez@akcourts.us.

Court proceedings are recorded using CourtSmart and FTR software.
CourtSmart recordings include the software required for playback and
transcription. For FTR recordings, visit the FTR website and select "Downloads" to get a free copy
of FTR Player Plus. Free registration required.

NOTE: The court system does not provide transcription
services to the general public. Audio recordings
are available through the Clerk's Office at the court location where the hearing took place.

Matters Under Advisement

Under Alaska law, a pay check may not be issued to a trial court judge
until the judge has filed an affidavit affirming that no matter referred to
the judge has been uncompleted or undecided for more than six months. AS
22.10.190(b) & AS 22.15.220(c). This provision is known as "the
six-month rule.” The following "rules” or protocols are used
to determine when a matter is under advisement and subject to the six-month
rule. These protocols were adopted by the presiding trial court judges in
2002 to provide direction to the programmers who were developing management
reports for the new trial court case management system (CourtView).

When a Trial Court Matter is Under
Advisement
and Subject to the Six-Month Rule

(A) Motions. A motion is under advisement and subject to the six-month
rule after the last of the following events:

(i) a reply has been filed or the final deadline for filing a reply has
passed without a reply being filed;

(ii) any oral argument or hearing on the motion has
been held; and

(iii) any supplemental briefing requested by the court
has been filed. If the judge schedules oral argument or a hearing after the
filing of supplemental briefing, the six-month rule begins to run after that
oral argument or hearing has been held.

(B) Decisions Following Trial. When a matter is taken under advisement
following trial, the six-month rule begins to run on the last day of trial.
If the judge requests supplemental briefing following trial, the six-month
rule begins to run after that briefing has been filed and any oral argument
or hearing has been held.

(C) Satisfaction of Six-Month Rule. The six-month rule is satisfied when
an order or judgment is signed, or, in the case of an oral order, when the
judicial officer enters the order on the electronic record. The six-month
rule is satisfied for a master when the master signs the report.

(D) Reassignments and Stays. If a case is reassigned to a judge in the
same court location, the six-month rule re-starts at day one for all pending
matters on the effective date of the reassignment order. If a case is
reassigned to a judge in another court, the six-month rule re-starts at day
one when that judge receives a copy of the case file from the original judge.
If a case is stayed, the six-month rule re-starts at day one on the effective
date of the order lifting the stay.